I have noticed that after we’ve had a very rough day, the next few weeks are pretty good. Since his last aggressive meltdown, the monkey has been on his best behavior. This morning he’s outside in the swings about to get ready to go to therapy, and he gladly listens. It also has to do with the fact that he listens to my husband more han me but he listens nonetheles.

This past Tuesday was parent-teacher conference. And the monkey has all A’s except an 87 in one of his classes. It’s so amazing to see how well he does in school. His teacher is the same one we’ve had last year and she tells me how proud she is at his growth. She was remembering how he used to get upset, he wasn’t able to self control his anger. But now, his aggressiveness hasn’t been like it was last year. Now he’s able to do independent work, group work, and work without a lot of guidance. He thrives in structure so the schedule that they have in school really helps him understand what’s expected of him.

She was telling me that one of the times when he came back from lunch he misbehaved so they took the icon of the iPad out of his schedule. They told him that as a consequence he would not be able to play in his iPad for the 15 minutes that he typically has during class time. And he kept telling everybody he was sorry but the teacher and the Paras did not budge and told him that the consequence stayed. The fact that he understood and he accepted it is what surprised me. He wasn’t happy, but he accepted his consequence. And this may be small stuff for typical kids, but they are huge leaps for kids like my son.

I used to hate going to parent-teacher conferences. I’d get ready to protect my emotions because I knew how bad it was going to be. Since this school year started, that has not been the case. I am beyond grateful for this.

His teacher only teaches first and second grade which means next year my son would need to be with another teacher. This is something that we’ve been very nervous about. But it seems that they will move her to teach grades three to five. If this is the case,  we may have her for a few more years. And seeing how well my monkey is doing, I believe this would be amazing for his growth.

Until then, we will worry about next year when the time comes. But for today I will keep swinging him outside, enjoying his beautiful laugh, and keep treading on.

As special needs parents, we can’t be stuck in our low points. Let’s enjoy our high ones. For there are many more beautiful moments that we get. And we need to learn to enjoy them. ❤️